1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for modifying the color saturation of one or more pixels of an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various color models that can be used to represent the pixels of a color image. The RGB (red, green, blue) color model comprises three values R, G and B for each pixel representing respectively an intensity of red, green and blue light. Such a representation corresponds closely to the display of images on displays such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). For storage and processing purposes, the RGB format is not optimum, and thus different color models may be used, such as the YUV color model or variants thereof, according to which one value Y represents luminance of the pixel, and two values UV represent the chrominance. Furthermore, the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) color model comprises one color value H representing the hue, a saturation value S, and a value V that represents luminance.
A user may define a desired color saturation increase to be applied to the pixels of an image. However, it is easy to over saturate an image, leading to a degradation of the image quality. A problem is the tools that currently exist for modifying color saturation in an image do not adequately assist a user in selecting the appropriate and safe color saturation.